


Awareness

by HollyShadow88



Series: ABCs of Harry Potter [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: ABC Challenge, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Challenge Response, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Romance, Room of Requirement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-21
Updated: 2014-07-21
Packaged: 2018-02-09 20:41:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1997109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollyShadow88/pseuds/HollyShadow88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coming back to Hogwarts after her mother's death was supposed to make things better, more normal for Hannah.  It turns out change was going to make everything more difficult, even one of the few places she still thought she could consider safe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Awareness

**Author's Note:**

> I originally began to post these on my fanfiction.net profile pretty close to a year ago, but I still haven't completed editing all of them and hopefully this will give me the push I need to do so. I'm part of a local NaNo group on Facebook and a while back we discussed writing a set of short stories for each letter of the alphabet. I was challenged to go a bit further and make it completely Harry Potter focused. Each day, beginning at the start of April last year, I wrote a story with a character from the books whose last name started with the letter of the day. They vary in the timeline, so each story will have its own specific set of tags and ratings depending on what's going down. Much of the inspiration for what I wrote on these came from the Behind the Scenes section under the characters' Harry Potter Wiki page, so for more info on where some of these stories came from, check those out!

If anything was a prefect illustration of one of her most dreaded nightmares, the prospect she was about to face was certainly it.

The Hogwarts Hannah left behind nearly a year ago was gone. The safe, welcoming (though, admittedly, known to share more than the usual amounts of unusual circumstances) environment had been replaced by an overarching, equally felt fear. Fear and the near constant threat of complete madness and destruction.

This was not what she needed, not now. Her mother’s death made her quieter, more contemplative, but not in an entirely positive way. She’d looked forward to her return, even if it meant she had to retake her sixth year, but this? This place was a mere dark shadow of the school in her memory.

She had thought (though, studying the clenching of emotions rippling through her chest, she suspected ‘desperately hoped’ might be a better choice of phrasing) that she could find some sense of normalcy here. Going to classes, doing homework, taking exams – the familiar acts that came with attending a school, that could lull her gradually back into herself. It was impossible now, however. **He** was out there and until he was destroyed completely, that innocence was lost for her and most of her generation.

Hannah wandered the corridors aimlessly, indifferent for once of the possibility of punishment. Nothing the Carrows did to her could be worse than what their colleagues had done to her mother. Besides, nothing she could do, right or wrong, would stop them from harming her if they believed she deserved it. She became suddenly aware of her surroundings, taking in the familiar sight of Barnabus the Barmy and his ridiculous display of lunacy. A soft smile came to her lips as she automatically began striding before the hidden entrance, repeating solemnly in her mind, **I just need a place to escape and forget.**

The door silently slid open and she entered, letting out a low, appreciative gasp as she took the room in. It was tiny, smaller than she had ever seen it, with barely enough space for much besides the massive bookcase and cozy couch it held. Nearly half of the wall opposite her sported a fireplace, lighting and heating the room to a sufficiently comfortable state. Overall the arrangement looked simple, bare and unimpressive even, but she appreciated it nonetheless. It didn’t seem like much, and yet it was exactly what she sought. Hannah slumped onto the couch wearily, breathing in the coarse smell of the logs and letting out a barely distinguishable sigh. Falling to lie on her back against the plush surface, she considered the ceiling and willed herself to stop thinking.

She had no way to tell how long she lay there, whether minutes or hours. She fought against the spirits attempting to dominate her mind – her Muggle father, alone and confused without his wife and daughter; her friends, concerned and edgy though they tried to appear normal; the entire school itself, tense and on the cusp of rebellion, waiting anxiously for that single trigger to set off their excess emotions. She simply wanted it all to disappear, Obliviate itself from her mind so that it no longer worried her constantly. As she contemplated what it would take to perform the unfamiliar spell on herself, the almost imperceptible sounds of a door shutting and padded footsteps caused her to bolt upright, wand at the ready. She did not expect the face that blinked down at her.

Neville. Of course. The Gryffindor **would** come looking for her when it was apparent she did not wish to be found. Or perhaps that wasn’t it at all. Maybe he simply sought the Room for his own purposes but couldn’t because it was already occupied. Speaking of that, she wondered… “How did you get in?” she blurted out, face flushing as she realized her thoughts had morphed into words. Rubbing the back of his neck, he grimaced slightly.

“You, ah, didn’t close the door all the way, “he said sheepishly in reply. “I saw it open and thought I should check…”

He wasn’t looking for her then. Figures. She sat back against the couch, facing the fire once more as she answered. “Just me, sorry. I’ll pay better attention next time.”

She expected him to leave. She figured that, having seen his duty accomplished, he’d go back to his little Gryffindor friends and leave her be. Needless to say it was quite a shock when, instead of retreating, he came to her side, sitting down beside her and grasping her shoulders lightly. The touch made her flush, but she did her best to ignore it.

“What’s wrong, Hannah?” he inquired, blue eyes searching her face. She sat frozen for a moment, unsure if she could speak, before her body acted for her. Heaving a great sob, she collapsed across him, tears blurring her vision. Neville simply held her in place, a single hand rubbing lightly up and down her back as she released her excess of emotions. After several minutes, she was able to straighten, attempting to wipe the certain monstrosity of a mess from her face. Without a word, he conjured her a handkerchief, which she took gratefully. Having cleaned herself slightly, her voice returned.

“It’s just so different now,” she whispered, gaze on the floor at her feet. “I mean, at home, it’s been different for a while – I’m used to it. But here, at Hogwarts….it was supposed to stay the same. It’s a constant, familiar presence…the outside world wasn’t meant to have an effect on it. But it’s not…and I don’t know if I can handle it.”

“You’re right,” he agreed, nearly as quiet as she. “It has changed, and we have with it. But it can be good, you know? Not all change is for the worst.” He groaned slightly, attempting to clarify his point. “Look, it isn’t as though we have much say here, it is? Which is ridiculous – we’ve been through more in the last few years than some adults…but the point is, if life’s going to change, we should face it. Front it with brave hearts and all that. It isn’t going away, so we may as well confront it, right?”

She sniffed once before nodding. “Yes. Of course. I’m sorry, it’s just so…”

“Wrong,” he supplied when she trailed off, causing her to laugh softly in agreement. They fell back into comfortable silence until Hannah realized she still lay partially across him.

“I’m sorry!” she apologized again, feeling her cheeks heat enthusiastically, but Neville merely smiled and pulled her back down into a more comfortable position. He sighed lightly as she resituated herself.

“Don’t worry about it,” he muttered into her hair. “If it makes you feel better, I’m happy to oblige. You deserve a bit of comfort after all that you’ve been through.”

And, much to her surprise, she admitted that he was entirely right.


End file.
